Detachable armored section for submarines.



A. FERNANDEZ,

nETAcHALE ARMonEn sEcTloN ron SUBMARINES.

Patented Aug. 7,1917.

APPLICATION ILED SEPT. 20| 196.

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A. FERNANDEZ.

DETACHABLE ARMORED SECTION FOR SUBMAR'INES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20 |916.

Patented Aug. 7, 19W.

2 sHEE'Ts-SHEET 2.

Vw @Morue/go ALPHONSE FERNANDEZ, 0F WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.v

DETACHABLE ARMORED SECTION FOR SUBMARTNES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented'Aug. 7, 1917.

Application led September 20, 1916. Serial No. 121,246.

'o all whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, ALPHONSE FERNAN- nnz, asubject of the King of Spain, residing at the city of Washington, in theDistrict of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Detachable Armored Sections for Submarines; and I do declare thefollowingto be a f ull, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the i same.

My invention aims to provide a submarine having a detachable uppersection in which all of the armament with the exceptlon of the torpedotubes is located, means being employed whereby said section may be castoff at will in case t is injured by gun -lire, bombs dropped fromairships, or by mines,

thus insuring that the added weight of water entering said section willnot capsize the entire vessel.

With the foregoing general object in view, the invention resides incertain novel features of construction and in unique combinations ofparts to be hereinafter fully described and claimed, the descriptivematter being supplemented by the accompanying drawings which constitutea part of this application and in which:

Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section, of the improvedsubmarine;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the plane of the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section on the plane of the line 3 3 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the manner in which the detachable topsection may be cast off;

Figs. 5 and 6 are detail longitudinal sections on the planes designatedby the lines 5-5 and 6--6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a detail transverse section on the :plane designated by theline 7 7 of Fig. 6.

In the drawings above briefly described, the numeral 1 designates theshell of the improved submarine which carries the usual submerging andpropelling means, the torpedo tubes, air supply tanks, etc., while thenumeral 2 designates a detachable top section designed to carrypractically all of the armament. When the improved vessel is constructedfor light duty such as the guarding of coasts or harbors having water ofsuliicient depth to permit submerging, the

is adapted for instancefto travel from one country to another andbombard cities or forts at the latter with a chance of encounteringenemy battleships onthe way.

In most instances, the top of the shell 1 and the bottom of the sectiony2 will be'flat and the sides of said section will be equipped `withdepending outwardly inclined anges 3 to abut shoulders 4 on said top ofthe shell to assist in' preventing lateral shifting of' the detachablesection. Vertical and quickly releasable devices 6 are provided forholding the section 2 in operative position upon the shell 1 but alllateral strain will obviously be removed from these parts by the flanges3 and shoulders 4.

The screws 5 are provided on their inner ends with bevel gears 7.located on the interior of the shell 1*, said gears meshing withsimilar gears 8 and a pair of longitudi.

nal shafts 9 said shafts being revolubly mounted in bearings 10 whichare slidably supported by brackets 11 depending from the top of theshell 1, springs 12 being disposed beneath said bearings to normallysupport them but to permit the same to move downwardly as both shafts 9must necessarily descend when the screws 5 are released.I The shafts 9may be provided on their ends with hand wheels 13 or other suitablemeans may be used for rotating said shaft for the purpose of releasingthe screws.

The devices 6 consist of vertical shafts 14 carried rotatably by andprojecting above the shell 1 and equipped with cross heads 15 on theirupper ends which are adapted, when turned to the proper extent, toregister with slots 16 in the bottom of the section 2, whereby, with thescrews 5 released the entire upper section will be disconnected from theshell 1. For simultaneously turning all of the shafts 14 they arepreferably provided with crank arms 17 pivoted to a sin le operating rod18 which extends longitudinally of the ship, and when the devices 6 areturned to released position, coiled springs 19 will retract them asshown in Fig. 4 so as to permit the entire armament section 2 to slidefrom the body of the ves sel. Under normal conditions with the partsstanding as shown in Fig. 3, strain is screws 5, thus leaving thedevices 6 as the entirel means of connecting the upper seotion 2 withthe shell 1. Should said section 2 be now so injured as to causeflooding thereof, the added weight will cause the entire vessel to listas shown in Fi 4, lbut the moment it is observed that suc listing istaking place, the rod 18 is operated to release all of the devices 6,whereupon when 'the ship has tilted a predetermined amount,

the section 2 will slide from the remainder of the craft as indicated inFig. 4. The section 2 when detached will of course sink and its contentswill be lost unless recovered in the future, but the body of the vesseland the lives therein will be saved. It will thus be obvious that themain body of the ship is fit for further use and may discharge torpedoeswhenever expedient.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,Ait will be observed that although the invention is of simple nature, itwill fuliil a long felt need. Certain specific details have been shownand described for accomplishing probably the best results, but it is to.be understood, however, that within the scope of the invention asclaimed, numerous changes may be made without sacrificing the principaladvantages.

I claim:

1. A submarine comprising a body section, an upper section restingthereon, and means operable from the interior of the body section forholding the two sections together under normal conditions and fortotally disconnecting them in case said upper section is injured,whereby said upper section may sink without carrying with it the bodysection.

2. A submarine comprising a main body section, a detachable uppersection resting thereon, means for holding the two sections together,'and quickly releasable fastening means for holding the upper section onthe lower after the aforesaid means have been released.

3. 'A submarine comprising a main body section, a detachable uppersection resting thereon, a plurality of screws for securing the twosections detachably together, bevel gears on the lower ends of saidscrews and located in said main body section, a longitudinal operatingshaft having bevel gears meshing with. the aforesaid gears forsimultaneously releasing all of the screws when :said shaft is rotated,bearings for said shaft,

brackets inl which said bearings are mounted for verticall sliding, `andsprings carried by said brackets for exerting an upward thrust on saidbearings but for permitting them to move downwardly with the operatingshaft as the screws are released.

ln testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

ALPHONSE FERNANDEZ.

, Witnesses:

